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Notable features

One of the few first magnitude stars in the sky, the bright red Aldebaran, sits in the middle of this constellation. The horns of the bull stretch off to the west, marked by β Tau, traditionally shared with Auriga) and ζ Tau.

Notable deep sky objects

In the east of the constellation lies one of the best known open clusters, easily visible to the eye, the Pleiades.

Behind Aldebaran lie the Hyades, the nearest distinct open star cluster, that with it form a V in the sky marking the bull's head.

Another object, visible in a telescope, is the Crab Nebula (M1), a supernova remnant northeast of Zeta. The explosion, seen on Earth on July 4, 1054, was bright enough to be seen by day. It is mentioned in Chinese history texts and Native American pottery.

Mythology

The identification of the constellation of Taurus as a bull may be quite old. Dr Michael Rappenglück of the University of Munich [1] believes that Taurus is represented in the Hall of the Bulls in the caves at Lascaux. The paintings are some 16,500 years old. One of the painted bulls is near a cluster of dots that looks like the Pleiades, and which is the correct position over its shoulder to be that asterism. The same pattern is found in pits in the floor, which could have been filled with oil and lit to recreate the lights of the Pleiades inside the cave, though there is no evidence that this actually happened.

Astrology

In the tropical zodiac it represents the newly re-established life of springtime. In siderial astrology it is associated with the constellation Taurus and is associated with the Greek myth of the bull-form taken by Zeus in order to win Europa.